Chemical Waste Disposal

Introduction

REM offers pickup services for all chemical waste generated on the West Lafayette campus. A Hazardous Materials Pickup Request Form must be completed and submitted by the generator of the waste to initiate pickup services. Once the pickup request has been processed, REM staff will come to your lab to pick up the waste. Average turnaround time is 3-5 days.

Pickup Procedures

Prior to pickup, all waste must be placed in a designated area within the room where the waste was generated.

Hazardous Materials Pickup Request Hints

Chemical Description:

Spell out all chemical names. Do not use acronyms, abbreviations or formulas.

The chemicals must be in percent form adding up to 100%. The percentages of each chemical should be accurate but can be rounded to the nearest whole number. For example, 0.01% Benzene can be conveyed on a pickup request as "Trace Benzene", or "<1% Benzene". The following is an example of a good chemical description: "Acetone 50%, Tetrahydrofuran 10%, Chloroform 20%, Acetic Acid 10%, Water 10%, Trace Silver".

The description on the container label must match the description written on the pickup request exactly.

When submitting trade products, read the description of the chemical components on the label, or request a MSDS from the manufacturer. This information will provide you with a proper chemical description for the product. You are responsible for providing REM with chemical descriptions or a MSDS.

Amount of Waste in Container:

Estimate as accurately as possible (i.e. +/- 10%). Use mass units for solids and volume units for liquids.

Spent or Useable:

The material is only useable if you are certain that the chemical is uncontaminated and can still be used for its intended use. Otherwise, consider it spent.

Physical State of the Material:

Solid, liquid and gas are the only designations that should be used. In general, keep solid and liquid wastes separate. If you have a mixture containing both solids and liquids, the rule of thumb is that if any portion of the waste flows as a liquid, call it liquid.

EPA Regulated Waste

The names and approximate percentages of all the materials listed below must appear in the description of a waste mixture if they are present in any quantity. Quantities under 1%, regardless of how small, can still be listed as "<1%" or "trace".

Regulated Toxic Chemicals (D-listed):

Arsenic

Methoxychlor

m-Cresol

Hexachloroethane

Barium

Toxaphene

p-Cresol

Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Cadmium

2,4-D

Cresol

Nitrobenzene

Chromium

2,4,5-TP (Silvex)

1,4-Dichlorobenzene

Pentachlorophenol

Lead

Benzene

1,2-Dichlorobenzene

Pyridine

Mercury

Carbon Tetrachloride

1,1-Dichloroethylene

Tetrachloroethylene

Selenium

Chlordane

2,4-Dinitrotoluene

Trichloroethylene

Silver

Chlorobenzene

Heptachlor

2,4,5-Trichlorophenol

Endrin

Chloroform

Hexachlorobenzene

2,4,6-Trichlorophenol

Lindane

o-Cresol

Hexachlorobutadiene

Vinyl Chloride

Regulated Solvents (F-Listed):

F-Listed Non-Halogenated Solvents

Solvent Name

Acetone

Benzene

n-Butyl Alcohol

Carbon Disulfide

o-Cresol

m-Cresol

p-Cresol

Cyclohexanone

Ethyl Acetate

Ethyl Benzene

Ethyl Ether

2-Ethoxyethanol

Ethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether

Isobutyl Alcohol

Methanol

Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Methyl Isobutyl Ketone

Nitrobenzene

2-Nitropropane

Pyridine

Toluene

Xylene

F-Listed Halogenated Solvents

Solvent Name

Carbon Tetrachloride

Chlorinated Fluorocarbons (CFCs)

Chlorobenzene

Chloroform

1,2-Dichlorobenzene

1,2-Dichloroethane

1,1-Dichloroethylene

Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane)

Tetrachloroethylene

1,1,1-Trichloroethane

1,1,2-Trichloroethane

Trichloroethylene

1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-Trifluoroethane

Trichlorofluoromethane (Freon-11)

Common Solvents and Liquids that Contain the Above Regulated Chemicals: